An attorney representing former President Donald Trump said on Friday that putting Trump on trial in Georgia during the lead-up to the general election would be equivalent to “election interference,” especially if he is the Republican presidential nominee.
Trump is currently the leading candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2024 election. On Friday, Trump’s attorney, Steven Sadow, commented on the schedule for the trial in Georgia, given Trump’s various legal issues and his upcoming campaign.
“Can you imagine the notion of the Republican nominee for president not being able to campaign for the presidency because he is, in some form or fashion, in a courtroom defending himself?” Sadow said during the hearing, according to The Associated Press. He added, “That would be the most effective election interference in the history of the United States.”
Sadow said that should Trump win the 2024 election, he would aim to delay the trial until after Trump’s presidential term, arguing that conducting the trial during his presidency would hinder his presidential duties.
“Trump, who faces four simultaneous state and federal criminal prosecutions, has repeatedly sought to delay the cases against him until after the Nov. 5, 2024, election,” per Reuters. “Sadow’s remarks show how Trump could use his campaign and a possible second four-year term in office to delay those cases, even in state courts where he would be unable to pardon himself and would not have control over the prosecutions.”
In August, Trump and 14 co-defendants pleaded not guilty to all counts in the charges brought by the Fulton County district attorney related to alleged attempts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jena Ellis and Scott Hall accepted plea agreements, agreeing to provide testimony against the other defendants in exchange.
Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade objected to Sadow’s comments. “Let’s be clear — this is not election interference. This is moving forward with the business of Fulton County,” he said, as ABC News reported.
Judge Scott McAfee suggested that he divide the 14 remaining defendants in the case into several trials. However, he noted that it was “still a little too far out” to determine the maximum number of defendants for each trial.
“Asked by the judge whether Trump could be tried in 2025 if he were to be elected president next November, Sadow said he believes that the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause and the presidential duties would mean that he could not be tried until he was out of office,” The Associated Press added.